Printing single-sided so pens cannot bleed onto the next design? Count the blank reverse pages in your total.
Colouring Book Printing
- Single-page PDF, 3mm bleed on all edges
- Images at 300dpi, CMYK colour
- Free file check on every order — we flag issues before press
Not ready? Generate a cover template or run the pre-flight check now.
Also available: Wire-O binding for lay-flat colouring · 100 to 170gsm uncoated · single-sided printing · perforated tear-out pages · A5 to A4 and square trims · runs from 10 to 10,000+.
How much does a colouring book cost to print?
The table shows the same A4 colouring book — 96 pages on 100gsm opaque, perfect bound — at six quantities, priced live by our calculator.
Paper weight is the decision that matters here: 100gsm suits pencils, and 150gsm or heavier is what stops felt tips and markers showing through. Both are in the calculator above. See full UK book printing prices or get your exact price →
| 10 copies | £13.99 |
| 25 copies | £6.14 |
| 50 copies | £3.82 |
| 100 copies | £3.05 |
| 250 copies | £2.07 |
| 500 copies | £1.62 |
Set your files up with our free book tools
Built by us for book work — every output is generated to your exact spec, not a static download.
Cover template generator
A press-ready cover template built for your trim size, spine and cover material — in seconds.
Pre-flight check
Upload your PDF and we flag bleed, resolution and colour issues before anything reaches press — free.
Spine width calculator
Your exact spine width from paper, page count and binding — live, to the tenth of a millimetre.
Book size guide
Every UK trim size at actual size, with what each one is conventionally used for.
What people print
Independent creators
Adult colouring books, mindfulness and pattern collections sold on Etsy, at fairs and direct. Retail-grade covers, ISBN barcoding, short runs that reprint as they sell.
Children’s & activity books
Colouring and activity books for young colourers — heavier paper that survives enthusiasm, larger trim sizes, wipe-clean laminated covers.
Brands & organisations
Branded colouring books for cafes, attractions, museums and campaigns. Custom trim sizes, logo covers, runs from 50 to the thousands.
Wellness & therapy
Mindfulness colouring, therapy and community workbooks. Lay-flat wire-O binding, single-sided printing, calm uncoated stocks.
Colouring books specification
Paper
- 100–120gsm uncoated — the colouring book standard, takes pencil and fineliner
- 150–170gsm for marker and mixed-media books
- Single-sided printing — blank versos so pens never ruin the next design
- Recycled uncoated options across the range
Binding
- Perfect bound — the retail standard, printable spine
- Wire-O — lies completely flat, pages fold fully back
- Saddle-stitched for shorter activity books — see booklet printing
- PUR binding for heavier stocks
Sizes
- A4 (297 × 210mm) — the standard colouring book trim
- Square (210 × 210mm) — popular for adult pattern books
- A5 for travel and handbag-sized books
- Custom trims on perfect-bound editions
Cover & extras
- Laminated colour covers — gloss, matte or soft-touch
- ISBN barcodes added free where you supply the ISBN
- Perforated pages available — finished art tears out cleanly for framing
- Test-page sections, intro spreads and colour-palette pages all fine
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Colouring books FAQ
100–120gsm uncoated for pencil and fineliner books — enough tooth for pencils to bite and enough opacity to keep designs separate. If your audience uses markers or felt tips, go 150–170gsm and print single-sided — no paper fully stops alcohol markers bleeding through, so a blank back is the honest fix. Avoid coated (gloss/silk) stock entirely: pencil barely marks it.
Yes — single-sided printing (design on the right, blank verso) is the professional colouring-book standard and we recommend it for anything aimed at pen users. It roughly doubles the sheet count for the same number of designs, which the live quote prices transparently.
Perfect bound for retail — a printable spine that shelves and photographs like a proper book. Wire-O for usability — the book lies completely flat and folds back on itself, which colourers genuinely prefer. Plenty of creators run both: perfect bound for shops, wire-O as a premium “deluxe” edition.
Adult colouring books cluster at 50–100 designs; children’s at 30–60. Printed single-sided that’s roughly 100–200 pages. Under about 48 pages a perfect-bound spine gets too thin to print on — saddle-stitching or wire-O handles slim activity books better.
Yes — that’s most of what we print. You keep all rights and all margin; we add an ISBN barcode free if you supply the number. Unlike KDP and other POD platforms (whose paper is wrong for colouring anyway), there’s no platform between you and your buyer.
Yes — books with a child’s name in the title or woven into designs are a lovely product and print exactly like any other short run. For one-off gift copies the economics work at 10 copies; for name-per-copy retail products, ask us about versioned covers.
Allow 3–5 working days from proof approval — mono interiors keep colouring books at the quick end of that range. Fair or launch deadline? Tell us before you order and we’ll confirm it’s makeable before you commit.
Yes — order a free sample pack to feel the uncoated stocks and check how your pens behave on them before committing a run.
From quote to delivered books.
Get a quote
Build the spec above — size, pages, paper, quantity — and the price updates as you go.
Upload files
Print-ready PDF preferred — the free file check flags resolution, colour and bleed issues.
Review proof
Free digital proof of cover and interior — we never print your run without your approval.
Printing
Covers and interiors printed in Exeter on presses profiled for accurate colour.
Bind & finish
Interiors printed, then perfect or PUR bound — or wire-O if you want it to lie completely flat.
Dispatch
Wrapped, boxed and dispatched via DPD or pallet courier, UK and overseas.
Ready to print your colouring book?
Get an instant quote in under a minute, or order a free sample pack to see and feel our work first.